Another Chance
by Shoukea
Summary: Atlanta rejects Archie but regrets it. Will she get another chance or will the forest take them both? AA, a little JT.
1. Running

Hey everyone, it's my first fic so I hope you like it. I decided to do the traditional ArchieAtlanta with a little TheresaJay thrown in later. I hope this doesn't get too long, but who knows. I always love reviews! Yeah! p.s. I don't own CotT tears

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**Another Chance  
**Chapter One: Running

He knew it. Why had he even tried? There was no chance she would have said yes. They weren't any more than just friends to her, and would never be more.

The boy sat on the bleachers surrounding the school track. The white cracked paint on the seat was rough against the skin of his legs. The wind tousled his vibrant purple hair but he didn't notice, glaring pointedly across the field at nothing, lost in his own thoughts.

Why did he have to ask her? Now they couldn't even hang out anymore, it would be too awkward – or in his case, heartbreaking. Would he even be able to look at her? He didn't know; probably not. That thought killed him the most. He adored just looking at her, her cheeky smile igniting her eyes with energy.

The boy shook his head and stood up. He was just overreacting. He would get over it, he's gotten over other girls before.

But other girls weren't like her.

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"You WHAT!"

The long, strawberry blonde hair of the speaker whipped around as she turned to face her sitting friend, her pacing abruptly halted by semi-real, semi-feigned shock.

"I uh, rejected him?" The other girl replied, her eyes questioning her friend's reaction and worried about what she might do next.

"Atlanta! How could you do that?" scolded the strawberry blonde. She sat down with a sigh across the table from her friend and looked Atlanta in the eye. "Do you know how long Archie has liked you?"

"Well, obviously not," (the orange-haired girl rolled her eyes) "and besides Terri, we're just friends," the bright-red haired girl interjected.

"What did I just ask you? He's liked you for a long time 'Lanta, more than 'just friends'," countered Theresa, silently hoping she would change her friend's mind with a little persuasion.

"But he's so goofy, and stubborn and…" Atlanta furrowed her brow, trying to find reasons.

"And…?" asked Theresa, raising her brow. She stood up and turned towards her room. "And perfect for you," she said over her shoulder, walking away.

Atlanta stared after her friend. _He's not! We're just friends… How could I be perfect for someone so… so… _she couldn't finish her thought. She looked down at her hands and cursed Theresa's manipulative powers. _He's just not for me,_ she thought, standing and glaring in the direction her friend went. Shaking her head, she walked towards the hallway and outside towards the track. She always went there to think.

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Archie jumped the last bleacher and landed on the dusty track with less than a thud. He stood and wiped his shirt of the red dust. _If Neil should see me now,_ he thought with a grin. He bent down, his arms prepped and ready, his feet digging into the dirt. At the sound of an imaginary shot he bolted, bringing up dust behind him. He was a fast runner, second in the school – second to _her_, but you'd never catch him admitting it. He usually ran to improve his speed, a would-be excuse to race Atlanta and have her ruffle his hair when she won. "Nice try, Arch," she'd say. He quickened his pace. This time he was running to beat her, to cross the finish line without her and be none the less for it. His heart dipped at the thought. _No, keep going_ he said, clenching his teeth. 

Atlanta walked across the soft grass to behind the bleachers. The metal structure holding up the seats towered over her as her eyes flitted to the entrance of the track. She never went through the gate, however, preferring to crawl under the bleachers. It allowed her to pop out from under a seat, and was especially fun if someone was sitting in said seat. _**Especially** fun if that someone was Archie,_ said a little voice in her head, projecting an image of him falling backwards with the funniest expression on his face. _Shut up, _she told it, furrowing her brow and slithering between the metal bars of the under-bleachers (? Didn't have a better name for it). She got to a low bench and stuck her head out, using her arms to pull her out from under the seat. To her surprise she saw someone on the track, across the field. They were running fast, almost a blur. She squinted her eyes against the orange back-lighting of the sun and saw a mess of purple on the runner's head. Her breath came in sharply. "Archie!" she whispered. She resisted the urge to duck back under the bleachers and leave. Her eyes followed him as he ran. He was always so determined and strong, she saw it in his eyes as he ran the curve closest to where she was sitting. As he did so she saw his eyes widen and his concentration break as he caught sight of her. She was about to smile at him when Archie tripped over his feet and fell into the track. Atlanta jumped to her feet. "Archie!"


	2. Jumping

Hey everyone. Second chapter! I have a pitiful (read: huge) amount of free time right now so hopefully I'll get chapters up pretty quickly – and then this fic will be done pretty quickly, I'm only expecting like, three chapters. Thanks for all the reviews already that was exciting, I want more! **Note:** I don't own Class of the Titans, I only pretend I do.

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**Another Chance**  
Chapter Two: Jumping

Theresa smiled to herself as she walked away from her frustrated friend. She knew what she had said was enough to make Atlanta realize what she already knew but was just denying to herself – or so Theresa hoped. She had to admit, Atlanta could be stubborn _and _oblivious, but there was a point when she had to realize what was in front of her.

Theresa paused in front of her room; she had only walked away from the table for emphasis and didn't really need anything from there. _Oh the deceit of being a matchmaker,_ she thought with melodramatic sarcasm. She leaned into her room to see if she really did need something of which she had just forgotten, but, seeing nothing, turned back towards the table. Atlanta was no longer sitting at it and seemed to no longer be anywhere in the house. Theresa sat down with a satisfied grin on her face and rested her chin in her hands. Or at least she would have done so if at that moment a handsome brown-haired boy had not strode through the door.

"Theresa, just the person I wanted to see!" he smiled, sitting next to her.

She lowered her eyes shyly. "Really? Little ol' me?" she replied, looking up again and batting her eyelashes much too much to be taken seriously.

Jay laughed. "Always," he said softly.

Theresa blushed and looked down at her lap quickly before looking back up to Jay. His eyes were creased into a rare smile: his face was usually so serious in concentration. She loved it when he smiled and always just wanted to… "Uh, so did you hear about Archie and Atlanta?" she asked him, bringing her thoughts back from where they had been wandering. _Not yet, not now,_ she scolded herself in her head.

"Oh, uh, yeah that was what I was hoping to talk to you about," Jay replied, also looking as though he had been pulled from a happy place. "Something like this could be so breaking for the group dynamic," he thought out loud, "and though I'm really not the right person to deal with this kind of thing, I know someone who is…" he looked at Theresa from the corners of his eyes in a sly smile.

"I've done all I can already," she said, lifting her shoulders with a smile. This time she decided no emphasis was needed and stayed right where she was.

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Archie sat up painfully. His jaw ached where it had slid along the dusty track and his head felt as though it would burst past his skull. He clutched his head and looked up, seeing the blurry figure of Atlanta kneeling over him. Clenching his teeth he looked at his knees, where two equal scrapes reminded him again of what just happened, and why he had been running. He remembered seeing Atlanta sitting on the bleachers and the next thing he knew he was grating along the track. He closed his eyes in pain and frustration but refused to voice it, especially with Atlanta there. She had hurt him enough but he would never make it obvious to her.

"Archie, are you... are you alright?" Atlanta asked, her voice threaded with worry. When she had seen him fall her stomach felt like it flipped itself and she had run as fast as she could to his side.

"Fine," he said through his teeth, using a hand for support to raise himself off the red ground, the other hand still trying to subdue his throbbing headache. Atlanta rose with him, reaching out in a vain attempt to help him.

"I was just down here to, uh, think, when I saw you. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall," Atlanta babbled as Archie stiffly straightened up. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and erase everything that happened. _What are you thinking? Where did that come from?_ she questioned herself, shaking her red head.

"_You_ didn't make me fall, there was a… rock on the track," Archie lied, turning away from her. He gingerly touched under his chin where a sharp pain told him an open cut was present.

"Are you hurt? Is your chin okay?" Atlanta asked, reaching for Archie's shoulder.

"It's fine, I'm fine," Archie said again, frustrated with Atlanta for being there and frustrated with himself for tripping.

"Are you sure?" she said, her hand finally reaching his shoulder. Her touch made his skin tingle and he could feel the warmth of her hand through his shirt. His hand was kept clasped against his head even though his pounding headache seemed to evaporate, replaced by his pounding heart.

Archie furrowed his brow and shrugged her hand away. "Yes," he growled angrily. _She's only looking out for her 'good friend', _he told himself, fixing his eyes on a cluster of trees in the distance and trying to ignore what he was feeling.

Atlanta dropped her arm from his shoulder as Archie walked determinedly away, not looking back. If he had he would have seen the mixture of shock and hurt on her face, but instead his pace quickened into a run as he crossed the furthest track, heading towards the forest. Atlanta only stared after him – for once she knew her speed would not help her.


	3. Climbing Trees

Hurrah another chapter! This one will have some action in it coupled with angsty inner turmoil of course. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, thanks to everyone for all the reviews :D Reminder: I don't own Class of the Titans, with many sighs on my part. p.s. I don't know if people are looking at the chapter names but I know only the first one directly corresponds with the contents, the other two are just to complete a quote by my favourite comedian. Haha yeah okay, on with the chapter.

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**Another Chance**  
Chapter Three: Climbing Trees

The forest grew darker and more welcoming to Archie as he ran from the bright track and from Atlanta. He didn't care where he was going and didn't intend to find out, he just wanted to be away from all that had happened.

He couldn't believe what he had done, truthfully. If this had happened earlier, even yesterday, Archie would not be running away from Atlanta; quite the opposite in fact. But it _was_ today and he _was_ running away, the argument between his head and his heart having no effect on his blind feet.

But abruptly he stopped, right at the edge of the emerald trees. He longed to turn and see Atlanta running after him, however no sound came to his ears but the rustling of old branches in the wind. He pushed through them, causing crackling in the place of soft rustles. O_f course she wouldn't be running after you, _he thought angrily. Anger towards Atlanta was his weapon now, to overpower and – he hoped – destroy his other feelings towards her, though it wasn't working very well. He just had to get away from her, afraid of what he would do when her laugh caught him into an updraft of affection, knowing she didn't feel the same.

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Atlanta watched Archie pause at the edge of the looming forest, wishing he would turn around and willing her feet would move from their firmly rooted position. _Why aren't you moving?_ She questioned them crossly as Archie's purple head disappeared into the darkness of the forest. As soon as his pale form was engulfed by the shield of branches she burst into a sprint, propelled by a force more than her own. In seconds she reached where Archie had been standing, her breathing heavy from the quick exertion of energy. _That was... odd,_ she thought, wondering what had caused her to move at that moment.

She contemplated the leaves, wondering if something in the branches had made her move or Archie pause, but their wise dark faces answered her with only the rustles with which they had replied to Archie. She had never been afraid of the forest, being the descendant of Artemis the hunter, but her lineage also endowed her with the knowledge of how dangerous it could be. The forest at New Olympia especially, with its tendency to be home to a few of Cronus's minions, posed a great threat. She pushed that thought aside along with the branches as she stepped into the emerald forest after Archie.

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Archie wasn't afraid of the forest; more than once it had given him sanctuary when he was distressed, this time included. True, he usually found a punching bag more useful, but the forest contained something more: it was real, it was living. He would never tell his friends though; his image would be completely ruined. _Ooh I'm Archie, picking flowers in the forest with my cute widdle animal fwiends is my favourite thing!_ Herry's mocking voice came to his ears. "Yeah right," he smirked at the thought.

What he wouldn't admit even to himself was that the forest reminded him of Atlanta, and that he felt closer to her whenever he was in it. This usual state of mind, however, was completely ignored at present, his sole intention to do exactly the opposite. Thrashing through the branches, he really didn't care who heard; finding the best of both worlds Archie was using the forest as a punching bag while he tried to escape his broken heart.

Suddenly he reached a clearing, a small opening in the trees where the orange evening sun tinged the grasses with a warm glow. His lack of anything to thrash made Archie stop and realize how tired he was and how deep into the forest he had gotten, the trees surrounding him menacingly thick and dark. Had he not felt so exhausted, Archie would have made note of how out of place a small clearing was in the middle of the forest, but his eyes and mind slid shut as his tired body slumped to the soft grass.

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_Archie is certainly not a hard creature to track,_ thought Atlanta with a laugh, following the trail of broken twigs and branches that marked Archie's path through the forest. She was making an effort to find humour in what was happening and to keep her mind on Archie as her surroundings made her increasingly wary. It was not often in the forest that you found no animals, despite the fact that a large angry mass had made its way through minutes before.

Atlanta checked her back pocket and sighed in relief: her bolas were where they always were, should she need to use them. _I hope Archie has something with him,_ she worried, the thought of him getting hurt or lost more upsetting than usual. _But, he can take care of himself,_ she said confidently. She quickened her pace, anxious to prove her thoughts correct, but immediately halted. Archie's trail of destruction had stopped right where she was standing and all around her the dense forest remained undisturbed. Atlanta shivered. This was not right.

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Ooh, something's afoot! For some reason each one of my chapters gets less light-hearted and more badly written. It should get better soon… I hope you smart guys figured out already that there'll probably be more than four chapters, I lied in the author's note of chapter 2. I'll just have to see where this goes! p.s. don't mind the horribly obvious foreshadowing in Atlanta's second paragraph. I know, it's terrible.  



	4. Deja Vu

Okay so I hit a block for writers (so I started another fic, but don't worry I'm still working on this one!) and I'm still a little stuck but I'm hoping just starting to write will help get the creative juices flowing. Sorry for the long wait! All the reviews this chapter were great, keep it up you lovely people :)

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**Another Chance  
**Chapter Four: Deja Vu

Orange figures blurred behind Archie's eyelids as he stirred, the short grass of the clearing brushing against his cheek. With a groggy moan he opened his eyes to late sunlight filtering over the trees. From his sideways orientation Archie could see the curve of dark trees surrounding the circular clearing in which he was, whose rich green grasses were littered with small flowers.

Confused, he used a hand to elevate himself to sitting. _Where am I?_ he thought, twisting his head from side to side and taking in the area of grass. No sounds reached his ears, not even the wind, though he could see the movement of soft air through the upper branches of trees beyond the clearing.

"Hello?" he shouted to the sky, hoping to Zeus that he would hear a reply. What he got back was his own voice, ricocheting off the trees into a mess of echoes. He furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of his situation. _No trees echo sound like that. And I'm in the middle of the forest! What is happening?_

"Anyone?" he yelled again, anxiously yet suspiciously eyeing the trees surrounding him as the sun began stain the sky a rosy pink.

"I'm here, Archie."

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Atlanta frowned and surveyed the scene around her again. Behind her was the path Archie had torn through the forest and which she had followed to where she was currently standing. Around her were thick black trees, calm and undisturbed. That same sight was in front of her, yet Archie was nowhere to be seen. _But his path ends here,_ she thought with distress._ Where is he?_

She clenched her fists and squinted her eyes against worried tears. "Where is he?" she cried to the sky, tilting her head back in defeat. "Where…?" she choked, hitting the nearest tree with her fists. Her breath caught in her throat as her tears got the best of her and she leaned her forehead on her fists. _Why do I have to care about him now that he's gone?_

Atlanta sank to her knees and leaned her back against the trunk of the tree, keeping her eyes closed as she took a deep, if staggered, breath to calm herself. _Okay Atlanta, just keep calm, he has to be somewhere,_ she encouraged herself. Fighting physical objects had always been easy for her, but fighting something she couldn't see daunted her, and the thought that Archie was so near but so far crushed her even more.

"I'm here, Archie," she heard a soft voice say. Was it hers? Her eyes fluttered open. She couldn't remember saying anything, but despite the darkness which she was greeted with when she opened her eyes she could see a form – which she assumed correctly to be Archie's – through the trees in a clearing that hadn't been there before.

"Who said that?" the form, who she now confirmed was Archie, demanded the air.

"I..." Atlanta began to say softly before the same voice cut her off: "I did," it floated from a patch of trees to Atlanta's left. She staggered to her feet in disbelief – there were many different creatures in the forest, yes, but rarely did they speak.

"Atlanta? Is that you?" asked Archie, a hopeful smile forming on his lips while his eyes remained vacant, searching for the body to accompany the voice.

"Atlanta? Why would Atlanta be coming to find you? She rejected you, remember?" it practically sneered.

Archie's smile dropped at the memory and the bluntness of the speaker's statement. Atlanta's eyes widened in shock then narrowed in anger as she dug her nails into the bark of the tree she was taking refuge behind. _Now I really want to know who that is,_ she fumed.

"Then who are you? How do you know who I am?" Archie interrogated defensively, reaching subtly to his pocket where he kept his Hephaestus Whip.

"Oh, I know all about _you_, Archie," the voice giggled, now somehow on Atlanta's right, "and all about Atlanta and the rest of the little 'team'."

At the mention of her name, Atlanta felt something slither near her ankle. Looking down she saw ajade vine cringe at her foot and begin to twist around her shoe. "A…Archie!" she yelled, picking up her foot to avoid thehunting foliage and pushing into the clearing.

"Atlanta?" Archie turned to catch his crimson-haired friend pierce through the depth of the trees and into the rosy dusk light that shrouded the clearing. His smile was as wide and relieved as Atlanta had ever seen, and she was sure hers was a mirror image. But their reunion was cut short as a vine split the trees where Atlanta had just come from and was heading their way.

"What?" Archie protested to whatever force was driving the vine. He rolled his eyes and crouched into a fighting stance. "Where have I seen this before."

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Okay I'll close this chapter there but now that I've actually got an idea I hope to update faster. Yay! And don't go thinking this voice is Pan, I know it's a similar idea but this is different! Plusthere'll be a Pan/Atlanta confrontation in the next chapter :P 


	5. Reveal

Happy Canada Day fellow Canadians! Okay so I'm writing this on Canada day but it won't get up until later so happy belated Canada Day. Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans. On to the chapter!

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**Another Chance  
**Chapter Five: Reveal

"This all seems pretty familiar, _Atlanta,_" Archie said sharply as a thick vine shot towards him and he jumped to avoid it.

"What are you implying?" Atlanta shot back, not taking her eyes off the attacking forest surrounding them but knowing full well what events were replaying in Archie's mind.

"Oh I don't know, could an old DJ friend have anything to do with this?" he questioned with such sarcastic innocence that Atlanta almost wanted to kick him instead of the approaching root that writhed away.

"Really Archie, you had to bring that up?" her voice was so laced with disdain that Archie had to grimace. "Pan is smarter than that," (Archie rolled his eyes) "besides, Cronus would never use the same plan twice, and Pan said he was going somewhere where Cronus couldn't find him!" Atlanta had said all this while she wrestled a squirming vine into submission before Archie used his whip to cut it from its source. Atlanta dropped the heavy trunk and turned to Archie. "It couldn't be Pan. Are you just jealous again?"

Ignoring the last comment, Archie deflected an oncoming branch and shouted, "then who is doing this?" as a barrage of vines twisted out of the forest. The peaceful clearing had erupted into frenzied battle, the two teens fighting the very nature in which they usually took refuge (oh the irony).

The voice from before laughed as the flowers beneath their feet began to enlarge, "I am," it replied.

A petite maiden, only years older than them, emerged from the thick trees, though she was floating at least two feet above ground. Her long brown hair waved gently at the bottom and both her light blue toga and her chestnut hair were embellished with delicate pink dogwood blossoms. Her face was pleasant but her eyes were clouded and stared straight in front of her, which was above and to the left of the heroes' heads.

Archie and Atlanta exchanged a knowing look. _She's being controlled,_ they both thought, but nothing more was shared as the suspended moment ended when the woman laughed again – not a sparkling giggle like before but a throaty chuckle that was not her own. She rose higher into the air and raised her arms, the flowers of the field rising with her. Their stems had become thick and thorny and they quivered with power.

"Uh, Archie?" Atlanta entreated, all notions of arguing set aside.

"I've got your back."

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Theresa stood up suddenly and gasped. "They're in trouble!" she exclaimed, anxiously turning to her teammates who were seated comfortably on the couch.

"Are you sure it's 'trouble'?" Neil asked with a smirk and the raise of a perfectly coiffed eyebrow. (You know what he's referring to ;) )

"Yes I'm sure! They're in the forest, and it's not good," she implored with open arms. Archie and Atlanta needed their help and they were just sitting on the couch making wisecracks?

"Okay guys, I think this is serious," said Jay, getting to his feet and standing next to Theresa. "Theresa's visions haven't let us down before," he added with a smile to the orange-haired girl whose cheeks tinged pink.

The rest of the team grumbled incoherently as they got to their feet. Herry began washing his many dishes and Neil made sure his hair was perfectly placed in his three-sided gold mirror.

"Guys?" Theresa questioned with disbelief.

They groaned again but followed after Theresa and Jay as they ran out the door. "I just thought we should leave the house a little tidy," Herry tried to justify.

"I don't think that house can even be a little tidy," Odie laughed as they reached the track. "…And I don't think there's any doubt that they were definitely here," he added, observing the marks in the dirt of the track.

Theresa squinted in concentration. "We're still pretty far from them," she yelled behind her, breaking into a run again.

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"Theresa, I'm all for saving our friends and whatever but this forest does _nothing_ for my hair," cried Neil, picking another twig out of his now-matte hair.

"We're almost there," Theresa told the others, ignoring Neil's complaints and brushing a branch away from her own face. "They should be right…"

Theresa cut herself off, staring in front of her. "They should be right here!" she exclaimed, confused. The rest of the team looked around.

"Uh, all I see is trees, Terri,"Herry said helpfully.

"I know, I don't understand it. I can sense them right here!" She reached her arms forward and waved her hands as if feeling for their presence.

"Heeey!" they heard Neil protest angrily. His blonde head appeared from behind a tree. "Stupid… tree… caught my… pants," he explained, pulling with both hands on a root that had snagged his pant leg. With a snap the root broke and sent Neil falling onto the ground. "Ouch," he whined, rubbing where he had fallen.

Averting their attention from Neil, a new sight now met the team's eyes. Through the dark trees they saw Archie and Atlanta in a clearing, giant, dangerous-looking flowers towering around them, and a small chestnut-haired woman floating above them. They heard her laugh as she raised her arms and the flowers began to rise.

"It looks like she's controlling the plants," Odie whispered, gesturing to the woman.

"Talk about being one with nature," Neil snickered, earning him a dry look from Theresa.

"Okay guys, here's what we'll do," explained Jay, keeping his eyes fixed on Archie and Atlanta's predicament. "Odie, you stay here and try to find what – if anything physical – she's using to control the plants. Herry and Neil, you help out Archie and Atlanta with those overgrown shrubs while Theresa and I try to figure out who that is and what she's doing," he organized, his eyes darting between the woman and the pair of heroes in the small clearing.

He paused. "…GO!" he shouted, leaping from the trees with his xiphos unsheathed and he comrades right behind.

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Oh no I have to cut you off here! Hopefully y'all enjoyed this chapter, and the whole clearing thing is making sense (by breaking the root Neil broke the spell hiding the forest). The nextchaptershould come in quick succession. Yay! 


	6. Retreat

Ack I was so busy all week (started dance camp, was meeting with relatives and stuff) so I didn't get to writing :( So sorry about the long wait! However this fic is almost done, so I won't have to worry about updating this one soon and can concentrate on other ones forming in my head. Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans.

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**Another Chance  
**Chapter Six: Retreat

Archie and Atlanta braced themselves, ready for an onslaught of thorny leafed snakes. But just as the thin woman floating above them was about to direct the menacing flowers dancing about her, they heard a shout from over their shoulders.

As their concentration broke and they turned in surprise, Jay exploded from the shadowed trees, closely followed by Herry and Theresa (Neil had decided last-minute to stay and help Odie). In a furtive glance to the woman above them, Atlanta noticed she was just as stunned as them at this outburst and had temporarily forgotten her next move as this new pawn came into play.

Atlanta glanced at Archie and he seemed to have seen it too. With a confident grin he nodded and brought his whip into view to show he knew what she meant. Atlanta reached for her bolas carefully and raised her eyebrows in signal.

What occurred next happened so fast that it was as if all the heroes were operating on Atlanta's cue. As she and Archie swung their weapons into the writhing vines, Jay and Theresa jumped between the woman and the vines which Herry had pulled down and tied together. With a leg up from Jay, Theresa flew into the air and caught the small woman in a soaring side-tackle, bringing the brown-haired maiden down with her as she landed on the soft grass in the clearing.

The vines shooting out from the forest, which were currently knotted and squirming, contracted suddenly then began to smoke as a short afro head popped out of the tangled trees.

"I found the source," Odie grinned, holding up his PMR whose antenna was smoking like the vines. The green ropes began to shrink and recede as the rest of the team returned his smile.

Neil stepped out from behind Odie with a satisfied smirk and dusted off his hands. "Good job everyone, great team effort," he said, putting his hands on his hips and surveying the now-calm clearing.

The communal eye-rolling occurred without Neil noticing, or at least Neil pretending not to notice, until Theresa kneeled and called the others over. "She's waking up," Theresa said of the woman on the ground, who had fallen unconscious after Theresa's tackle but was now beginning to stir.

The heroes around her who had crowded at Theresa's call now murmured to each other, debating what they should do with the petite woman.

"She was definitely being controlled by something," Atlanta pitched in. "I don't think she would normally be evil."

"Well who is she?" asked Jay, whose vast knowledge of Greek mythology was, for once, leaving him at a blank.

"Uh, guys?" Neil's voice drifted from outside the group.

"She probably needs medical attention," noted Theresa, observing small cuts and swellings springing from the maiden's pale skin. "Should we take her to Hera?"

"Well wherever you take her, you'd better decide soon!" Neil squealed, his back to the group. One hand was pointing a shaking finger at the forest, the other clenched under his chin.

Spinning around, Herry voiced what Neil was choking on in fear. "The forest is closing in!"

The rest of the teens turned as well, Theresa picking up the small woman in her arms. "Run!" she yelled, though it was unnecessary as everyone had already darted between the trees that weren't slowly engulfing the green clearing.

Theresa maneuvered as best she could through dark trees, trying to get out as quickly as possible and not bothering to find the others. The woman in her arms was awake but groggy and she wanted to get her to the gods before anything else happened.

She could see faint light through thinning trees and she knew she was nearing the track. Behind her she could hear the rustles and random shouts of her teammates, but she didn't slow her pace. _Just a little farther,_ she encouraged herself, shifting her hold on the woman who was now awake and clearly confused.

Jay stopped at the edge of the trees, waiting for the rest of the team to emerge. He had to be sure everyone was safe before he could continue. He knew Theresa had run ahead and despite his strong desire to go with her he stayed and waited.

Atlanta then Archie were the first ones out, right behind each other and panting, seeming to have raced the last stretch of forest. Jay was pleased for more than one reason to see they were laughing and Atlanta even had a hand on Archie's semi-recumbent shoulder. Herry and Odie were next, followed lastly by Neil who loudly announced he was never going near another forest ever again while inspecting his ruined cashmere t-shirt.

"Is everyone okay?" Jay demanded, looking around the group. Everyone nodded and Jay took that as cue to cross the track. "Theresa is headed to Hera with the woman," he explained, thoughmost had already assumed that's where she went. "Let's just be glad we got out of that forest," Jay added, as dusk was slowly beginning to settle on the rustling trees behind them.

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Augh we still haven't found out who that woman is! I've really drawn out these chapters, I'm annoyed at myself. I hope I can get the next one out sooner, and finally explain everything. Thanks for bearing with, and keep up the reviews please et merci! 


	7. Antheia

My source for information on Antheia was encyclopedia mythica. I didn't name all her domains of control because Hera does not seem one to state more than is necessary. I'm pretty sure Hera and Antheia don't have the background that I gave them but for the sake of narrative they know each other very well. Note: I don't own Class of the Titans, though that would be so awesome! Onto the last chapter (unless you review and say you want one more... which would give more leway into a sequel oh noes!)

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**Another Chance  
**Chapter Seven: Antheia

Theresa's footsteps echoed through the empty halls of Olympia High. All the students of the normal school had already gone home in a whirlwind of papers and ink, though Theresa couldn't have cared less if someone had seen her fumbling for a gold medallion that happened to fit perfectly into the door of the janitor's closet.

Pressing it into the door, it clicked open and she quickly rushed in, impatient for the sparkling blue wall to appear. She pretended to ignore the woman in her arms, who was not saying anything but was obviously disoriented and confused.

As soon as the wall began to shimmer Theresa leapt through it to the questioning but never surprised face of Hera.

"Hera! We need to get this woman to Chiron!" Theresa insisted, relieved that Hera was there but still overly stressed from her recent exertions.

"Theresa I…" Hera began calmly, but stopped and held a soft hand to her mouth when she saw the person Theresa was carrying. "Here my child, lay her down here and go get Chiron," Hera gestured to a lavishly embossed velvet chaise lounge covered with oversized pillows (retired gods know how to relax). Theresa placed the woman gently and ran further into the rooms to find Chiron.

"Antheia," Hera breathed as the maiden dropped her head on a plush pillow in exhaustion. She sat beside Antheia with her hands folded in her lap and looked at the small woman with the tenderness of a mother.

This was the scene the other six heroes entered upon, with Theresa coming in moments later accompanied by Chiron, when they stepped through the shimmering wall. "Let me see the lady,"Chiron said gruffly, clopping up to beside the make-shift bed and leaning in for a closer look.

"Well, she's no more injured than you all," he stated, including the heroes who had yet to mention their arrival, "but I will bring her something to help the headache she most certainly has, and you heroes should rest yourselves as well." He turned with a swish of his tail and four hoofed feet rang melodically after him.

The teens sat almost in unison on lush sofas and chairs scattered near the bed on which the brown-haired woman was lying. A contemplative silence hung between them until Jay spoke what was on everyone's minds.

"Who is she, Hera?"

Hera sighed and looked to the seven confused teenagers before her. "She is Antheia," she told them. By their faces she could tell that she had explained nothing, so she continued. "She is a Cretan goddess, and a dear friend of mine. This is the last place I expected to see her," Hera said, looking to Antheia and lapsing into fond memories. Cronus should not have been able to find her, to control her. "She is the goddess of vegetation, blossoms, gardens and human love," Hera added.

"Well that explains the killer plants," Herry said, scratching the back of his neck in a sheepish effort to allevitate the serious mood.

"'Killer plants'?" Hera questioned, amused at Herry's choice of words.

Jay almost kicked himself for not telling the _queen of the gods_ what had happened before demanding questions of her. "We," he began, his eyes fleeting to Archie and Atlanta who were sitting on a red velvet couch and looked guilty when they felt his gaze, "found a clearing in the middle of the forest, where Antheia was directing the trees and flowers to attack us. Odie zapped the main source of control after we'd gotten Antheia, but the clearing began to shrink and we rushed here," Jay explained, trying his best to abridge the story.

Hera thought for a moment and looked up, her clear eyes demanding honesty but her stern mouth asking the hardest question to answer honestly: "why were you in the middle of the forest?"

Ten young eyes rested on Archie, waiting for the answer they knew should come, as Atlanta's lowered eyes and raised shoulders showed a shameful guilt. As if she hadn't put him through enough already, he now had to reply to a question whose embarrassing answer was her fault. She couldn't stand it.

Archie looked up and his strained face showed the battle occurring in his mind. How much should he tell Hera? Did he really want to pour out his heart in front of everyone? Was it really 'pouring out' his heart? He opened his mouth but just as he was about to choke out an answer Chiron came in with a small vial of magenta liquid.

"This should cure Antheia completely," he said, resting a hand on Hera's shoulder as if for comfort. He opened Antheia's mouth and poured in half the vial, standing back slightly to watch his creation work. He smiled as two sea green eyes opened and blinked as her head rose off the pillow.

"Hera!" Antheia cried in happiness and disbelief, wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Antheia," Hera smiled, laughing in her quiet way and returning the gesture.

The teens around the two couldn't help smiling as well, if a little in surprise. Hera barely ever showed such affection, especially to someone as seemingly young as the brown-haired woman Theresa had just brought in.

Antheia released Hera from the hug and looked around her curiously at the faces of the teens. Her sweet smile showed she remembered nothing from earlier in the day and Jay took up his leader role again to introduce everyone. Antheia smiled and nodded at each hero in turn before her eyes rested on Hera again.

"Dear friend, we should catch up," Hera smiled, though intending to find out about what Cronus had planned more than what Antheia had been doing for the thousands of years between their last meeting.

Hera turned to the teens and told them to go rest, and they took this cue to leave and headed back to the brownstone. Each one was exhausted and still slightly confused about what had happened, though they knew Hera would explain everything in full to them the next day.

As they arrived at the brownstone everyone filed in and headed straight to their rooms, though before Archie could get through the door he felt a tug on his wrist.

Turning, he saw Atlanta holding him and felt her pull him away from the door and back onto the sidewalk. Suddenly he flushed as memories of the morning came back to him and Atlanta's answer to his dreaded question. He slipped out of hero mode and back into teen mode, and his current inner teen was terribly conflicted. Though his angerhad evaporated, it was beginning to be replaced by shame and sadness.

Before any of his feelings could be physically shown, however, Atlanta spoke up. "I just wanted to apologize to you Archie," she said, taking his other hand in hers so she was holding both and looking up at him, "for everything. I was just…" Atlanta's stomach was twisting and she thanked the darkness for preventing her cheeks from being seen.

Archie smiled and stared into her eyes. Her gorgeous cobalt eyes that shone in the moonlight with hope and pleading and made him forget everything that had happened that day, for a single perfect moment.

"It's okay Atlanta," he said, smirking. "I think I'm willing to give you another chance."

* * *

The end! Unless you really want one more chapter, which is just Hera explaining things, though even I haven't gotten some things explained yet --; I hope this fic was enjoyable! I liked writing it, first fic ever! Hurrah! Reviews love 


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